EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - Millersville University's Brandon Connor and Devin Flannery are headed back to the NCAA Division II Championships for the second year in a row. The pair of Marauders both finished as Super Region 1 runner-up to punch their ticket to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

In addition to the performance of Flannery (133) and Connor (165), Craig Cook (149) and Jonathan Parrilla (157) placed fourth in their weight classes, coming up one win shy of a berth to nationals. Tim Uhler (141) earned a fifth-place finish with a pin in his final bout, and heavyweight Bishop McCoy also scored a fifth-place finish. 

"We had a really good day through all the rounds," said Millersville head coach Jerry Boland. "Even in the losses guys wrestled hard. We prepared really well this week. We were fresh. We timed our practices right to give their bodies rest. It showed today. I think out of all the PSAC schools, we out-performed our seed more than anyone. I do think we were peaking at the right time, and that shows with guys out-doing their seed."

As a team, Millersville took fifth in the team standings, matching last season's finish for the best in program history. 

Flannery entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and Connor as the No. 3 seed, and both were knocked off in the title bout by the super region's No. 1 seed.

Flannery reached the tile match with a 7-0 decision, a 12-3 major decision and a 4-2 victory over Gannon's Chase McLaughlin. In that semifinal bout, Flannery trailed 2-1 in the third period, but escaped from the bottom to tie it and then hit a takedown with 19 seconds remaining. Flannery ran up against Eric Bartos of Mercyhurst in the championship match. The two had met previously this season, with Bartos winning, 4-3. Bartos held a 1-0 lead entering the third, but with Flannery starting on bottom, Bartos managed to put Flannery in jeopardy, scoring six nearfall points before Flannery could escape. Bartos held on for a 9-1 decision. 

Connor's day started with a dominating 16-1 tech fall win over Mercyhurst's Mike Clark. That advanced him to the semifinals against familiar foe and No. 2 seed Dillon Keane of Pitt-Johnstown. The two split postseason wins last season, but in Saturday's super regional, Connor started quickly with a takedown and two back points in the first period. Connor picked up three more escapes to outlast Keane, 7-5. Connor drew top-seeded Alex Farenchak in the championship match. Farenchak scored three of his four points in the second period, escaping 20 seconds in and then hitting a takedown with 35 seconds to go. That was enough for Farenchak, who went on to win 4-0. 

"Connor wrestled well," said Boland. "He closed the gap on Farenchak, who had beat him by a major decision a couple weeks ago, and then he beat Keane that he lost to earlier in the year."

Cook, a three-time national qualifier at Davis & Elkins, came up just shy in his first season in Super Region 1. A 4-0 loss to the No. 2 seeded Nick Young of Gannon put Cook in the consolation bracket where he rallied with a 7-3 win over Fairmont State's Colton Stoneking. He faced Tommy Nichols of American International with a nationals bid on the line, and Nichols' four points in the second period pushed him to a 7-4 win. 

Parrilla had a long road to reach the third-place match after dropping his opening bout to the eventual runner-up, 1-0. Parrilla responded with a pair of 5-3 decisions to face Gannon's Dom Means. Parrilla trailed just 3-2 entering the final minute of the match, but Means scored a takedown for a 5-2 win. 

"Going into the final round we were feeling so good about how we were wrestling," said Boland. "They were pushing the pace and wrestling well in all facets. They wrestled well to get to that point, but we got no breaks. When you have two guys who are equally talented and both are wrestling hard, sometimes it comes down to the breaks, a scramble goes a way, a spot you usually win 99% of the time. We just didn't get those breaks in the finals."

Uhler finished his day 2-2, scoring a pair of pinfalls including a pin in 2:56 against Shippensburg's Alex Miscovich, securing fifth place. McCoy also won two matches including a tech fall in his first match of the consolation bracket. 

"Bishop was really getting after it," said Boland. "Sometimes in those close heavyweight matches it is 2-1 and who is going to get the stall called. He was getting takedowns and putting guys on their back."

Connor has now finished as the super region runner-up twice. Flannery improved his placement by one spot after taking third in 2022.

"They've been (to the NCAA Championships) before," said Boland. "They know what it takes to win matches there. They carry a lot of pride for the program. They'll go out to Iowa and represent the program well. Now everyone is 0-0. We'll take it one match at time and try to get high on the podium."

Parrilla also moved up one spot after taking fifth last season. Uhler and McCoy both earned their first regional placements. 

UP NEXT
Connor and Flannery will compete at the NCAA Division II Championships from March 9-11.